Developer Sues Middletown Commission Over Subdivision Denial

MIDDLETOWN — A developer has sued the planning and zoning commission after the January rejection of a 13-lot subdivision off Country Club Road.

The commission denied Domenico Fragomeni's application on Jan. 8, largely over concerns about the effect water runoff from nearby Mt. Higby would have on the septic systems of the new homes.

The proposed subdivision would have put new homes on the edge of Mt. Higby at the intersection of Country Club Road and the unimproved Massa Tom Road. Part of the application called for digging catch basins to solve complicated water runoff issues.

Health department sanitarian Manfred Rehm said at the Jan. 8 hearing that the city had concerns about the proposed septic systems on some of the lots, which could fail during rainy spring or summer months as the water table rises.

In the lawsuit, filed by attorney Michael Dowley, who also represented Fragomeni in the subdivision application, the developer says the rejection of the application was illegal because the application met all of the city's subdivision regulations.

"The application was denied because the city wanted the applicant to deal with an offsite problem existing on city land and roadways which the city tried to make the applicant become responsible for," the lawsuit says. "The denial was based on the city's inability to maintain off-site improvements regarding existing water problems at the subdivision site that the plaintiff's proposed subdivision will not cause or amplify."

Dowley told the commission in January that the development would solve a longstanding icing problem on Country Club Road, and that engineering reports show the septic systems would not be compromised. Dowley said the developer planned to live on one of the 13 lots.

The commission denied the subdivision application with a 2-5 vote. Commissioner Stephen Devoto said the plan "feels forced" and said he would be comfortable with fewer lots, but was not comfortable with the septic plans for all 13 lots.